The much anticipated Xbox 360 spring update will have some negative effects on users who set up foreign Xbox Live accounts in order to download content they can't access locally.
Users who have their Xbox Live account matching their current location will not be affected by the update, but users who set up their accounts to point to a foreign country, will have access to their real location's content only.
Setting up a fake Xbox Live account pointing to USA or Japan has been a common practice for some time now because people wanted to have access to American movies and TV shows as well as Japanese game demos available on Xbox Live.
Microsoft has explained the reasons behind the new restrictions: "Some of our contracts and agreements with content partners, particularly in the area of entertainment, restrict in which countries we may make certain content available. There are a number of reasons for these restrictions, including legal rights and regulations. In addition, various countries such as Germany have regulations when it comes to what content is acceptable for distribution to their residents".
Microsoft said that they "understand that this may be frustrating for some users, and hope they understand our responsibility, and the necessary security requirements that need to be in place in order to comply with applicable laws and honor our agreements with content providers.
If you're located in the US, and you're having any issue downloading content after applying the Spring Update, call 1-800-4MY-XBOX.
